Japan’s agricultural land covers only one-eighth of its territory
The World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) include the proportion of land devoted to agriculture for 210 countries and regions. The global figure is 36.88%, while Japan’s is 12.64%. Ranked from highest to lowest, Japan comes 172nd.
At the top are Côte d’Ivoire (86.48%), Turkmenistan (84.22%), and Burundi (83.89%); some countries have more than 80% of their territory devoted to agriculture. At the bottom are Suriname (0.45%), Greenland (0.59%), and Singapore (0.92%).
In Japan’s case, this also reflects the fact that more than two-thirds of the country is forested. The constraint of having limited usable flat land appears throughout agricultural statistics.
Yield per unit of area ranks 23rd out of 181 countries
While Japan has little agricultural land, its cereal yield per hectare is 6,245.1kg, ranking 23rd among 181 countries and regions. That is nearly 1.5 times the global figure of 4,243.5kg.
At the top are Oman (29,147kg), the United Arab Emirates (23,306.5kg), and Qatar (18,274.6kg). However, these 3 countries have extremely limited arable land and invest heavily in protected cultivation and irrigation. Their exceptionally high yields per unit of area are also partly due to the small planted area used as the denominator in the statistics.
At the bottom are Cabo Verde (40.3kg), Namibia (451.2kg), and Somalia (503.5kg). The gap between the top and bottom is more than 150-fold.
In statistical terms, Japan’s agriculture obtains high yields from a small area of farmland.
People working in agriculture account for 2.81% of the employed population
Agricultural workers account for 2.81% of the employed population, ranking 39th out of 187 countries and regions when ordered from lowest to highest. That is about one-ninth of the global figure of 25.78%.
At the low end are city-states and regions such as Singapore (0.10%), Hong Kong (0.18%), and Macao (0.37%). At the high end are Burundi (85.34%), Mozambique (73.01%), and Niger (72.99%); countries where more than 70% of employed people work in agriculture do in fact exist. Globally, 1 in 4 people still works in agriculture.
Japan’s 2.81% is among the lowest in the world, excluding city-states. Its structure is one in which a small number of people produce high yields from a limited area of farmland.
Food production index ranks 142nd out of 195 countries
The food production index shows how much the volume of food production has changed from a base year. Japan’s figure is 100.27. Although this is almost identical to the global figure of 100.0, Japan ranks 142nd out of 195 countries and regions—closer to the bottom than the top.
At the top are Senegal (177.49), Saudi Arabia (172.66), and Oman (170.06), all of which have substantially increased production from the base year. At the bottom are Gambia (71.08), Cuba (71.39), and Hungary (74.66).
This indicator measures change, not the level of production. Remaining around 100 means that production has stayed roughly flat. Even if yield ranks among the world’s highest, that does not mean total production is growing.
Japan is not included in the share of the population experiencing undernourishment
Values for the proportion of the population experiencing undernourishment are available for 169 countries and regions, with a global figure of 8.5%. At the low end are Algeria, Armenia, Australia, and others (all at 2.5%), which is the lower limit of this statistic. At the high end are Haiti (54.2%), Somalia (53.2%), and North Korea (47.0%); some countries have more than half their population experiencing undernourishment.
Japan is not included in this indicator. This is because the statistic is compiled mainly for countries where undernourishment exists as an issue. The absence of a value is itself one piece of information indicating Japan’s position.
What becomes visible when the 5 indicators are viewed together
| Indicator | Japan’s figure | Rank (denominator) | Global figure |
| Cereal yield | 6,245.1kg/ha | 23rd (181) | 4,243.5kg/ha |
| Share of workers employed in agriculture | 2.81% | 39th (187, in ascending order) | 25.78% |
| Food production index | 100.27 | 142nd (195) | 100.0 |
| Share of land devoted to agriculture | 12.64% | 172nd (210) | 36.88% |
| Share of the population experiencing undernourishment | Not included | — (169) | 8.5% |
Land area is near the bottom globally, yield is near the top, the number of people working in agriculture is extremely low, and total production is flat. These 4 facts are not contradictory. Together, they show a country with limited usable land raising yields per unit of area through machinery and technology, and operating with a small workforce.
In international comparisons of food, “self-sufficiency” is often discussed. But looking first at the 3 factors of farmland, yield, and agricultural workers makes it easier to understand what the single figure of self-sufficiency is actually the result of.
Sources
- Cereal yield (kg per hectare) (World Bank World Development Indicators AG.YLD.CREL.KG)
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (same source, SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS)
- Food production index (same source, AG.PRD.FOOD.XD)
- Agricultural land (% of land area) (same source, AG.LND.AGRI.ZS)
- Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) (same source, SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS)
Values are based on the latest available year for each indicator: agricultural employment share 2025, cereal yield 2024, agricultural land share 2023, undernourished population share 2023, and food production index 2022.